Hierarchical prioritized charging for battery backup units on computing data centers

ABSTRACT

A method for prioritized charging of battery backup units (BBUs) is provided. The method may include identifying critical system racks associated with computing data centers based on characteristics associated with the system racks on the computing data centers. The method may also include identifying critical system enclosures associated with the identified critical system racks based on system architectures associated with the computing data centers. The method may further include prioritizing the identified critical system enclosures based on parameters associated with the identified critical system enclosures. The method may also include identifying and ranking a plurality of critical BBUs associated with the identified and prioritized critical system enclosures based on prioritized charging rules associated with the plurality of critical BBUs. The method may further include charging the identified and ranked plurality of critical BBUs in an order based on the prioritized charging rules.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, andmore specifically, to computer systems.

Generally, critical computer systems may be protected against unexpectedpower loss. For example, in case of unexpected power loss to criticalcomputer systems, important data stored in the system cache may bewritten to non-volatile storage, a process called cache vaulting.Typically, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or battery backup unit(BBU) may be used to supply electric power to facilitate the cachevaulting process in case of the unexpected power loss. The BBU maydiffer from an auxiliary/emergency power system or standby generator inthat the BBU may provide near-instantaneous protection from input powerinterruptions by supplying energy stored in batteries, supercapacitors,or flywheels. The battery runtime of a BBU may be relatively short(typically a few minutes) but sufficient enough to start a standby powersource, perform cache vaulting, properly shut down the protectedequipment of the critical computer system, or keep the system running incase the power loss is intermittent and the main power supply may returnshortly. For example, multiple BBUs may be used to provide electricpower to system enclosures associated with systems that may includeracks of servers to perform cache vaulting to non-volatile storage, suchas solid state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs).

SUMMARY

A method for prioritized charging of battery backup units (BBUs) isprovided. The method may include identifying a plurality of criticalsystem racks associated with at least one computing data center based ona plurality of characteristics associated with a plurality of systemracks on the at least one computing data center. The method may alsoinclude identifying a plurality of critical system enclosures associatedwith the identified plurality of critical system racks based on a systemarchitecture associated with the at least one computing data center. Themethod may further include prioritizing the identified plurality ofcritical system enclosures based on a plurality of parameters associatedwith the identified plurality of critical system enclosures. The methodmay also include identifying and ranking a plurality of critical BBUsassociated with the identified and prioritized plurality of criticalsystem enclosures based on prioritized charging rules associated withthe plurality of critical BBUs. The method may further include chargingthe identified and ranked plurality of critical BBUs in an order basedon the prioritized charging rules.

A computer system for prioritized charging of battery backup units(BBUs) is provided. The computer system may include one or moreprocessors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or morecomputer-readable tangible storage devices, and program instructionsstored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for executionby at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of theone or more memories, whereby the computer system is capable ofperforming a method. The method may include identifying a plurality ofcritical system racks associated with at least one computing data centerbased on a plurality of characteristics associated with a plurality ofsystem racks on the at least one computing data center. The method mayalso include identifying a plurality of critical system enclosuresassociated with the identified plurality of critical system racks basedon a system architecture associated with the at least one computing datacenter. The method may further include prioritizing the identifiedplurality of critical system enclosures based on a plurality ofparameters associated with the identified plurality of critical systemenclosures. The method may also include identifying and ranking aplurality of critical BBUs associated with the identified andprioritized plurality of critical system enclosures based on prioritizedcharging rules associated with the plurality of critical BBUs. Themethod may further include charging the identified and ranked pluralityof critical BBUs in an order based on the prioritized charging rules.

A computer program product for prioritized charging of battery backupunits (BBUs) is provided. The computer program product may include oneor more computer-readable storage devices and program instructionsstored on at least one of the one or more tangible storage devices, theprogram instructions executable by a processor. The computer programproduct may include program instructions to identify a plurality ofcritical system racks associated with at least one computing data centerbased on a plurality of characteristics associated with a plurality ofsystem racks on the at least one computing data center. The computerprogram product may also include program instructions to identify aplurality of critical system enclosures associated with the identifiedplurality of critical system racks based on a system architectureassociated with the at least one computing data center. The computerprogram product may further include program instructions to prioritizethe identified plurality of critical system enclosures based on aplurality of parameters associated with the identified plurality ofcritical system enclosures. The computer program product may alsoinclude program instructions to identify and rank a plurality ofcritical BBUs associated with the identified and prioritized pluralityof critical system enclosures based on prioritized charging rulesassociated with the plurality of critical BBUs. The computer programproduct may further include program instructions to charge theidentified and ranked plurality of critical BBUs in an order based onthe prioritized charging rules.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings. The various features of the drawings arenot to scale as the illustrations are for clarity in facilitating oneskilled in the art in understanding the invention in conjunction withthe detailed description. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked computer environment according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 is an operational flowchart illustrating the steps carried out bya program for prioritized charging of battery backup units (BBUs)according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the system architecture of a program forprioritized charging of battery backup units (BBUs) according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative cloud computing environmentincluding the computer system depicted in FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of functional layers of the illustrative cloudcomputing environment of FIG. 4, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods are disclosedherein; however, it can be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely illustrative of the claimed structures and methods that may beembodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theexemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplaryembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of this invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the description, details of well-known featuresand techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresented embodiments.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field ofcomputing, and more particularly, to computer systems in a data center.The following described exemplary embodiments provide a system, methodand program product for prioritized charging of backup battery units(BBUs) associated with computing data centers. Therefore, the presentembodiment has the capacity to improve the technical field associatedwith computer electrical transmission by identifying critical BBUs oncomputing data centers that are discharged due to system power loss andprioritizing the charging of the critical BBUs based on characteristicsassociated with the computing data centers and the critical BBUs.Specifically, based on characteristics associated with the computingdata centers, the present embodiment may determine critical system racksassociated with the computing data centers, identify critical systemenclosures associated with the critical system racks, identify thecritical BBUs associated with the critical system enclosures, and selectthe critical BBUs to charge based on prioritization rules associatedwith the critical BBUs.

As previously described with respect to computer power systems, BBUs maybe used to supply electric power to provide near-instantaneousprotection from input power supply interruptions by supplying energystored in batteries to power system enclosures. Furthermore, and aspreviously described, the battery runtime of BBUs may be relativelyshort but sufficient enough to start a standby power source, performcache vaulting, properly shut down the protected equipment of thecritical computer system, or keep the system running in case the powerloss is intermittent and the main power supply may return shortly.However, following a power loss event of computing data centers, BBUsassociated with the computing data centers may discharged to differentlevels, and need to be charged back up when power returns. During thecharge-up period, computer systems associated with the computing datacenters may potentially become disconnected due to a second orintermittent power loss event, and in turn may not provide the servicesneeded for the computing data centers. For example, host computersassociated with the computer systems may experience a loss of accessperiod. Ideally, users may want all BBUs to charge back upsimultaneously and at the fastest rate possible to protect the computersystems from further power loss events, but this is usually not thecase. Typically, there are power budget constraints that prevent thesystems from providing enough current to charge all BBUs at the sametime. As such, it may be advantageous, among other things, to provide asystem, method and program product for prioritized charging of BBUsassociated with computing data centers. Specifically, the system, methodand program product may identify critical BBUs on computing data centersthat are discharged due to system power loss and prioritize charging thecritical BBUs based on characteristics and system architecturesassociated with the computing data centers as well as prioritizationrules based on the critical BBUs.

According to at least one implementation of the present embodiment,critical system racks associated with computing data centers may beidentified based on characteristics associated with system racks on thecomputing data centers. Then, critical system enclosures associated withthe identified critical system racks may be identified based on a systemarchitecture associated with the computing data centers. Next, theidentified critical system enclosures may be prioritized based onparameters associated with the identified critical system enclosures.Then, critical BBUs on the identified critical system enclosures may bedetermined and ranked based on prioritized charging rules associatedwith the critical BBUs. Then, the determined and ranked critical BBUsmay be selected and charged in an order based on the prioritizedcharging rules.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like,and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The following described exemplary embodiments provide a system, methodand program product for prioritized charging of battery backup units(BBUs).

According to at least one implementation, critical system racksassociated with computing data centers may be identified based oncharacteristics associated with system racks on the computing datacenters. Then, critical system enclosures associated with the identifiedcritical system racks may be identified based on a system architectureassociated with the computing data centers. Next, the identifiedcritical system enclosures may be prioritized based on parametersassociated with the identified critical system enclosures. Then,critical BBUs on the identified critical system enclosures may beidentified and ranked based on prioritized charging rules associatedwith the critical BBUs. Then, the identified and ranked critical BBUsmay be charged in an order based on the prioritized charging rules.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary networked computer environment 100in accordance with one embodiment is depicted. The networked computerenvironment 100 may include a computer 102 with a processor 104 and adata storage device 106 that is enabled to run a battery backup unit(BBU) prioritized charging program 108A and a software program 114. Thesoftware program 114 may be an application program associated withcomputing data centers. The BBU prioritized charging program 108A maycommunicate with the software program 114. The networked computerenvironment 100 may also include a server 112 that is enabled to run aBBU prioritized charging program 108B and a communication network 110.The networked computer environment 100 may include a plurality ofcomputers 102 and servers 112, only one of which is shown forillustrative brevity.

According to at least one implementation, the present embodiment mayalso include a database 116, which may be running on server 112. Thecommunication network may include various types of communicationnetworks, such as a wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), atelecommunication network, a wireless network, a public switched networkand/or a satellite network. It may be appreciated that FIG. 1 providesonly an illustration of one implementation and does not imply anylimitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

The client computer 102 may be one of many computers associated with acomputing data center and may communicate with one or more servercomputers 112 via the communications network 110. The communicationsnetwork 110 may include connections, such as wire, wirelesscommunication links, or fiber optic cables. As will be discussed withreference to FIG. 3, server computer 112 may include internal components800 a and external components 900 a, respectively, and client computer102 may include internal components 800 b and external components 900 b,respectively. Server computer 112 may also operate in a cloud computingservice model, such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as aService (PaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Server 112 mayalso be located in a cloud computing deployment model, such as a privatecloud, community cloud, public cloud, or hybrid cloud. Client computer102 may be, for example, a mobile device, a telephone, a personaldigital assistant, a netbook, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, adesktop computer, or any type of computing device capable of running aprogram and accessing a network. According to various implementations ofthe present embodiment, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108Bmay interact with a database 116 that may be embedded in various storagedevices, such as, but not limited to a mobile device 102, a networkedserver 112, or a cloud storage service.

According to the present embodiment, a program, such as a BBUprioritized charging program 108A and 108B may run on the clientcomputer 102 or on the server computer 112 via a communications network110. The BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B may identify andmark critical BBUs to charge on computing data centers in an order basedon characteristics, parameters, and prioritization rules associated withthe computing data centers. Specifically, a user using a computer, suchas computer 102, may run a BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B,that interacts with a computing data center to identify critical BBUs onthe computing data centers that are discharged due to system power loss,and to prioritize charging the critical BBUs in an order based oncharacteristics and system architectures associated with the computingdata centers as well as prioritization rules based on the critical BBUs.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an operational flowchart 200 that illustratesthe steps carried out by a program for prioritized charging of BBUs inaccordance with one embodiment is depicted. At 202, the BBU prioritizedcharging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may identify critical system racksassociated with computing data centers based on characteristicsassociated with system racks on the computing data centers.Specifically, for example, the computing data centers may behierarchical systems that include system racks, and the system racks mayinclude system enclosures, and each system enclosure may include BBUs.Furthermore, following a system power outage or failure associated withthe computing data centers, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may determine that not all systems racks associated withthe computing data centers may be deemed critical and need to beoperational immediately. More specifically, the BBU prioritized chargingprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may query the computing data centers todetermine that some system racks can withstand a delay in charging backup without having a significant impact on the service/performanceprovided by the computing data center, and therefore, may be considerednon-critical system racks. For example, the BBU prioritized chargingprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may query each node associated with thecomputing data centers that may include a read request for dataassociated with the computing data centers, whereby the read requestdata may include the applications running on the system racks as well asthe system architecture associated with the system racks. Specifically,according to one embodiment, a datacenter management computer performsthe reads (for example, by pinging each node in the datacenter, or byreferring to a table of stored values), and provides the read results tothe BBU prioritized charging program 108A. BBU prioritized chargingprogram 108A receives the read data, and continues with furtherprocessing based on the received data. In turn, based on the read data,the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may, forexample, identify non-critical applications, such as mailing servicesand mirroring. Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the BBUprioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users todefine the applications that may be deemed the non-criticalapplications. As such, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may identify critical system racks associated with thecomputing data centers based on characteristics that may include theapplications running on the system racks associated with the computingdata centers, and the importance of the applications running on thesystem racks to users, which may be defined by the user and/or based onuser usage history, userprofile data, and/or system requirementsassociated with the computing data centers that may be included in readrequest data.

Next, at 204, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may identify critical system enclosures associated with the identifiedcritical system racks based on a system architecture associated with thecomputing data centers. Specifically, the identified critical systemracks may include system enclosures. For example, and as previouslydescribed in step 202, the identified system racks may include systemenclosures which may further include stacks of computers and servers,whereby one or more of the computers and servers may be housed on asystem enclosure associated with the system rack. Furthermore, the BBUprioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine and ranka criticality level of each system enclosure based on the systemarchitecture for the computing data centers. Specifically, and aspreviously described at step 202, the BBU prioritized charging program108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may query each node associated with the computingdata centers that may include a read request for data associated withthe computing data centers, whereby the read data may include theapplications running on, and the system architecture associated with,the system enclosures. For example, based on the query and read data,the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determinethat an identified critical system rack includes system enclosures thatfurther includes different computers, storage servers, and switches.Furthermore, based on the system architecture associated with thecomputing data centers, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine that there are two redundant switches on thesystem enclosures associated with the system rack. Therefore, the BBUprioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine that atleast one of the switches is critical, and may identify and mark thesystem enclosure associated with the at least one switch as critical. Inanother example, based on the system architecture associated with thecomputing data centers, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine that the system architecture calls for at leastthree computer servers. Therefore, the BBU prioritized charging program108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may identify and mark as critical, as well as rank,the system enclosures that include computer servers, whereby at leastthree of the computer servers associated with the identified systemenclosures may be marked for prioritized charging.

Then, at 206, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may rank/prioritize the identified critical system enclosures based onparameters associated with the identified critical system enclosures. Aspreviously described at step 204, the BBU prioritized charging program108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may identify critical system enclosures associatedwith the identified critical system racks based on the systemarchitecture. For example, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may determine that the system architecture calls for atleast three computer servers, and therefore, may identify and mark ascritical the system enclosures that include computer servers.Furthermore, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may rank/prioritize the identified critical system enclosures thatinclude the computer servers based on parameters such as CPUperformance, dual in-line memory module (DIMM) size, state of charge ofthe BBUs and age of the BBUs associated with the system enclosures. Forexample, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) mayidentify and mark as critical one or more critical system enclosureswith each system enclosure including a computer server. Thereafter,based on the system architecture calling for at least three computerservers, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) mayrank/prioritize the one or more identified critical system enclosuresbased on the CPU performance, DIMM size, state of charge of the BBUs andage of the BBUs associated with each of the identified systemenclosures. Specifically, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may rank/prioritize an identified critical systemenclosure with a better CPU performance and healthier BBUs, based on thestate of charge.

Next, at 208, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may identify and rank the critical BBUs associated with the identifiedcritical system enclosures based on prioritized charging rulesassociated with the critical BBUs. Specifically, the BBU prioritizedcharging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may query each node associated withthe computing data centers that may include a read request for dataassociated with the computing data centers, whereby the read data mayinclude information associated with each BBU. Thereafter, based on thequery and the read information associated with the BBUs on theidentified critical system enclosures, the BBU prioritized chargingprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may use prioritized charging rules to rankthe BBUs in order to prioritize charging the BBUs. For example, based onread information, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may identify the critical system enclosures and may identifyand rank the BBUs by determining the state of charge of each of theidentified BBUs and the age of the identified BBUs. More specifically,the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may rank theidentified BBUs based on a prioritized charging rule such as: (a)prioritize the BBU with the higher state of charge (%), and (b) if twoor more of the BBUs are identical in the state of charge, prioritize thenewer BBU. For example, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may identify three BBUs—BBU A, BBU B, and BBU C—that areassociated with identified critical system enclosures. Thereafter, theBBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine thatBBU A has a higher state of charge than BBU B and BBU C. Therefore, theBBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may rank andprioritize charging BBU A first over BBU B and BBU C. Furthermore, theBBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine thatBBU B and BBU C have the same state of charge, but that BBU B is newerthan BBU C. Therefore, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may rank and prioritize charging BBU B over BBU C.

Then, at 210, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may charge the identified and ranked critical BBUs in an order based onthe prioritized charging rules. Specifically, and as previouslydescribed at steps 202-208, the BBU prioritized charging program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may identify critical system racks associated withcomputing data centers, identify critical system enclosures associatedwith the identified critical system racks, may rank/prioritize theidentified critical system enclosures based on parameters, and mayidentify and rank the critical BBUs associated with the identifiedcritical system enclosures based on prioritized charging rules to firstcharge the prioritized critical BBUs in ranking order in response to apower outage event associated with a computing data center, and thencharging the rest of the discharged BBUs.

It may be appreciated that FIG. 2 provides only an illustration of oneimplementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to howdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted environments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram 300 of internal and external components ofcomputers depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that FIG.3 provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not implyany limitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

Data processing system 800, 900 is representative of any electronicdevice capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Dataprocessing system 800, 900 may be representative of a smart phone, acomputer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may represented bydata processing system 800, 900 include, but are not limited to,personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thickclients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, anddistributed cloud computing environments that include any of the abovesystems or devices.

User client computer 102 (FIG. 1), and network server 112 (FIG. 1)include respective sets of internal components 800 a, b and externalcomponents 900 a, b illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of the sets of internalcomponents 800 a, b includes one or more processors 820, one or morecomputer-readable RAMs 822, and one or more computer-readable ROMs 824on one or more buses 826, and one or more operating systems 828 and oneor more computer-readable tangible storage devices 830. The one or moreoperating systems 828, the software program 114 (FIG. 1) and the BBUprioritized charging program 108A (FIG. 1) in client computer 102 (FIG.1), and the BBU prioritized charging program 108B (FIG. 1) in networkserver computer 112 (FIG. 1) are stored on one or more of the respectivecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 830 for execution by one ormore of the respective processors 820 via one or more of the respectiveRAMs 822 (which typically include cache memory). In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 3, each of the computer-readable tangible storagedevices 830 is a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive.Alternatively, each of the computer-readable tangible storage devices830 is a semiconductor storage device such as ROM 824, EPROM, flashmemory or any other computer-readable tangible storage device that canstore a computer program and digital information.

Each set of internal components 800 a, b, also includes a R/W drive orinterface 832 to read from and write to one or more portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 936 such as a CD-ROM, DVD,memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk orsemiconductor storage device. A software program, such as a BBUprioritized charging program 108A and 108B (FIG. 1), can be stored onone or more of the respective portable computer-readable tangiblestorage devices 936, read via the respective R/W drive or interface 832,and loaded into the respective hard drive 830.

Each set of internal components 800 a, b also includes network adaptersor interfaces 836 such as a TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless Wi-Fiinterface cards, or 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired orwireless communication links. The BBU prioritized charging program 108A(FIG. 1) and software program 114 (FIG. 1) in client computer 102 (FIG.1), and the BBU prioritized charging program 108B (FIG. 1) in networkserver 112 (FIG. 1) can be downloaded to client computer 102 (FIG. 1)from an external computer via a network (for example, the Internet, alocal area network or other, wide area network) and respective networkadapters or interfaces 836. From the network adapters or interfaces 836,the BBU prioritized charging program 108A (FIG. 1) and software program114 (FIG. 1) in client computer 102 (FIG. 1) and the BBU prioritizedcharging program 108B (FIG. 1) in network server computer 112 (FIG. 1)are loaded into the respective hard drive 830. The network may comprisecopper wires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers.

Each of the sets of external components 900 a, b can include a computerdisplay monitor 920, a keyboard 930, and a computer mouse 934. Externalcomponents 900 a, b can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards,touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Each ofthe sets of internal components 800 a, b also includes device drivers840 to interface to computer display monitor 920, keyboard 930, andcomputer mouse 934. The device drivers 840, R/W drive or interface 832,and network adapter or interface 836 comprise hardware and software(stored in storage device 830 and/or ROM 824).

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrative cloud computing environment 400 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 400 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 100 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 400A, desktop computer 400B, laptop computer400C, and/or automobile computer system 400N may communicate. Nodes 100may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown)physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private,Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or acombination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 400 tooffer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which acloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 400A-Nshown in FIG. 4 are intended to be illustrative only and that computingnodes 100 and cloud computing environment 400 can communicate with anytype of computerized device over any type of network and/or networkaddressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 5, a set of functional abstraction layers 500provided by cloud computing environment 400 (FIG. 4) is shown. It shouldbe understood in advance that the components, layers, and functionsshown in FIG. 5 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments ofthe invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layersand corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and BBU prioritized charging 96. A BBUprioritized charging program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may be offered “as aservice in the cloud” (i.e., Software as a Service (SaaS)) forapplications running on mobile devices 102 (FIG. 1) and may prioritizecharging of battery backup units (BBUs).

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for prioritizedcharging of battery backup units (BBUs), comprising: one or morecomputer-readable tangible storage devices and program instructionsstored on at least one of the one or more tangible storage devices, theprogram instructions executable by a processor, the program instructionscomprising: program instructions to identify a plurality of criticalsystem racks associated with at least one computing data center based ona plurality of characteristics associated with a plurality of systemracks on the at least one computing data center, wherein the at leastone computing data center comprises a hierarchical computing systemcomprising the plurality of system racks, wherein the plurality ofsystem racks includes a plurality of system enclosures, and wherein theplurality of system enclosures includes a plurality of BBUs; programinstructions to identify a plurality of critical system enclosuresassociated with the identified plurality of critical system racks basedon a system architecture associated with the at least one computing datacenter; program instructions to prioritize the identified plurality ofcritical system enclosures based on a plurality of parameters associatedwith the identified plurality of critical system enclosures, whereinprioritizing comprises ranking the plurality of critical systemenclosures based on the plurality of parameters; program instructions toidentify and rank a plurality of critical BBUs associated with theidentified and prioritized plurality of critical system enclosures basedon prioritized charging rules associated with the plurality of criticalBBUs, wherein identifying the plurality of critical BBUs comprisesidentifying the plurality of critical BBUs based on a state of chargeassociated with a plurality of BBUs on the plurality of critical systemenclosures and based on a battery age associated with the plurality ofBBUs; wherein the prioritized charging rules comprises a firstprioritized charging rule that includes prioritized charging of a firstset of critical BBUs associated with the plurality of critical BBUs overa second set of critical BBUs associated with the plurality of criticalBBUs based on a state of charge of the plurality of critical BBUs,wherein the first set of critical BBUs includes a higher state of chargethan the second set of critical BBUs; wherein the prioritized chargingrules comprises a second prioritized charging rule that includes, inresponse to the plurality of critical BBUs associated with the first setof critical BBUs and the second set of critical BBUs having a same stateof charge, prioritized charging of the first set of critical BBUs andthe second set of critical BBUs based on a battery age associated withthe plurality of critical BBUs; and program instructions to charge theidentified and ranked plurality of critical BBUs in an order based onthe prioritized charging rules, comprising charging first the first setof critical BBUs then charging the second set of critical BBUs based onthe prioritized charging rules, wherein the first set of critical BBUsand the second set of critical BBUs includes the identified and rankedplurality of critical BBUs.